2007 January | LovetheMusic

So, being on the Kage’s music committee, I get the opportunity to sample some of the hundreds of CDs that we get sent. This proves that looks can be deceiving. ~~Toast’s~~ (Site no longer available) All In, for example, has cover art that kind of reminded me of Hatebreed’s Supremacy. However, everything else about this album brings to mind the word amateur. It seriously sounds like something I would’ve picked up for 97¢ back in high school. You can tell that they’ve heard things work well in songs, and have made an attempt at doing it themselves. It really doesn’t work. “Bird” is an excersise in cliché. Samply lyric:

Watched a bird in a cage/she can’t fly
Locked up from her flight/she will die
She can’t escape/these chains she has to break…to be free.

Okay, that’s about enough of that. If you noticed the lack of links, it’s because the internet is thankfully devoid of information about this band. They don’t even have songs up on MySpazz. So you don’t get to hear the shady Everlast vocals, the attempt at a sexual song [à la Nickelback] in “Party Girl,” their crappy Beatles reference in “Judgement Day,” or any of it. Which is just as well. Consider this a warning.

Final Verdict: On the off chance that this CD ends up anywhere near you, leave it alone.

Over the course of the last several months, Regina Spektor has been passed around like gossip– too good and juicy to keep to yourself, but too special to be blabbed to the whole world. Well, with “ Fidelity” hitting the airwaves and the media loop at Target, Regina appearing on Leno and Kimmel, several songs appearing on CSI: New York [creator Anthony Zuiker also plans to put her in a few episodes next season], and then on CBS’s Sunday Morning last week it’s out of our hands. But for those of you just being introduced to Regina, just remember that she made her rounds beneath the radar, and that the hype is, indeed, deserved, if not entirely true. So, down to business about Begin to Hope. My friend Dave has been in love with Regina for months and through him I’d been exposed to a few select tracks, which had earned her a fair portion of my interest and admiration. I found a fantastic deal on the full album, so I couldn’t pass it up. It’s turned out to be one of the best discount purchases I’ve made [ along with these which I also found on sale and fell in love with]. The reasons for this are numerous. There’s an immediate appeal with Regina’s voice, which is very inviting. Most of the songs have an appealing sound at first listen, kind of catch in the wrinkles of your brain. At first I worried that this was it. Just that superficial “Oh, this sounds nice” thing, only to be presented with fluff on closer listens. For a while I was almost afraid to find that out, but that’s not the case at all. The lyrics, though a bit light-hearted at times, are truly clever, genius at times [see the penultimate stanza in "On the Radio"]. The musical range is fantastic, and moods run from absurd to epic to intimate and ’round the block again. This album is fantastic. Final verdict: ignore the hype and consider it a personal recommendation. Just don’t ruin things for the rest of us. Related Links: Regina Spektor Official Website Buy “Begin To Hope” Selected MP3s: Consequence [audio http://www.recidivism.org/music/regina_consequence.mp3] The Ghost of Corporate Future [audio http://celebsandstuff.com/music/Regina%20Spektor%20-%20The%20Ghost%20Of%20Corporate%20Future.mp3] Samson [audio http://celebsandstuff.com/music/Regina%20Spektor%20-%20samson.mp3] Us [audio http://squeakyfingers.crispytomato.net/music/05%20Us.mp3]
Can You Dig It?

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Snippet: Regina Spektor, John Butler Trio, Broken Social Scene, Beirut.

Hello all,

Few announcements to make. Firstly, a personal one. I’m flipping excited. John Butler has released the title of their new album, “Grand National”, and mentions that he is finishing up the artwork for the cover. What does this mean? This means tha it will be released soon! Whoop!

Secondly, Damon is working on a review of the new Regina Spektor, which looks promising. I’m also going to be working on reviews for Beirut and Broken Social Scene. I’m also planning a post that reviews new ways of retrieving and finding new music on the net.

Also, I have a DJ interest meeting to attend this coming Thursday, and am rather excited at the prospect of becoming one for my University. Wish me luck!

Take care.

Jen

Review : Easy Star All-Stars - Radiodread

Reggae + Radiohead + Awesome = Radiodread/Easy Star All Stars

Easy Star All Stars - Radiodread

Easy Star All Stars Official Website

Label : Easy Star

Okay, happy new year and all that. Blah, new review. Three years after the underground sensation that was Dub Side of the Moon Easy Star Records presents their followup: Radiodread, a similarly reggae'd up recording of Radiohead's OK Computer. As with the previous project, there are some tricky bits and some spots where the idea really shines. Well, my original plan was to write yet another very shining review of an album that I got on impulse. However, it's been a while since I've listened to it and the euphoria's worn off a spell. That, of course, didn't stop me from buying another Radiohead tribute over Christmas break. Yeah, I'm a bit of a tribute whore. I'll do my best in the future to spare you fine readers of such flights of fancy. Anyhow, Radiodread. It's actually pretty much what you'd expect. I was impressed at how well the heavy riff part of "Paranoid Android" translated into blasts of horns. The rewording of "Fitter, happier" made me smile quite a bit. Probably the coolest two things about this album are found in the liner notes: the album is [a]done entirely without samples and [b]done with Radiohead's permission and blessing. Final Verdict: Great, but mostly as a novelty. And I promise not to review the RH trib I'm listening to right now. Unless by popular request.

Related Links :

Buy This CD!

Easy Star All Stars

On MySpace

Related Audio:

Lucky

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Climbing Up The Walls

[audio:http://www.lovethemusicreviews.com/audio/Easy%20Star%20Allstars%20-%20Radiodread/09%20%20Climbing%20Up%20The%20Walls.mp3]

Meeting People Is Easy: A Film by Grant Gee about Radiohead

Meeting People Is Easy // A Film by Grant Gee about Radiohead

Second part of my Radiohead final fix [until the new disc drops sometime in this young year] is a film that followed Radiohead around while they were touring in promotion of OK Computer. It is, by no means, a typical "follow a big rock group around and partake in their hijinks" film. But then, Radiohead aren't a typical hijinksy rock band. What you get here is Thom Yorke looking really bored during some dull interviews and really, really, really bored during "Creep." You get to see Colin speak French. You get to hear a lot of b-sides ["Big Ideas (Don't Get Any)" and two remixes of "Climbing up the Walls"] and then-unreleased songs ["How to Disappear Completely (and Not be Seen)" and "Life in a Glass House" ended up on Kid A and Amnesiac respectively]. You get several really good live bits. And you get a glimpse of the dull side of writing an album so worthy of my praise. At first the film may seem slow and incoherent and dreary, but I think that's the point. I feel it gives a great impression of what it must be like for those poor boys from Oxford. The inane interview questions, the blur of one city after another, the hype over "Creep." I must say that this is one of the few band documentary/concert DVDs that doesn't inspire me to pick up my guitar and follow my dreams of rockstardom. If you want that, check out Pearl Jam's Touring Band 2000 or Weezer's Video Capture Device . You might want to check those out anyway. But no, what this film made me aspire to is music journalism. Just so I can ask reasonable questions and not be another moron comparing the band to Pink Floyd and asking how they fit into the BritPop scene.